French school cafeterias : Intensive livestock farms certified High Environmental Value (HEV) by the government

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French school cafeterias : Intensive livestock farms certified High Environmental Value (HEV) by the government

4 March 2021
Welfarm
News
Orders issued by the French Ministry of Agriculture on 25 January 2021 allow several intensive farms (ducks, chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl) to apply for the High Environmental Value (HVE) level 2 label.

During the citizen consultation prior to the Egalim law of 30 October 2018, the French had placed the issue of animal welfare at the top of their list of concerns. The ambitions of the text seem to echo them in part. Indeed, Article 24 of this law stipulates that 50% of the products served in canteens by 1 January 2022 at the latest should be "sustainable" and that at least 20% of this quota should be made up of organic products. In this context, the law stipulates that this 50% quota should cover products benefiting from level 2 environmental certification by 2030.

However, the granting of this certification does not depend on any criteria for the improvement of animal husbandry conditions. This "environmental certification of the farm" was awarded on 25 January 2021 to poultry farms that have integrated the EVA-Environment Charter by the Ministry of Agriculture. But this charter remains very weakly protective of animals and has many limitations: no environmental criteria, no origin requirements, and no animal welfare obligation.

It is therefore an unacceptable situation that is now being addressed by a group of organizations working for a different kind of agriculture, including Welfarm, in a press release published today.